Messenger, Who Killed Wife In 1998, To Be Moved Into Community

David Messenger, who was committed to a state psychiatric hospital after being acquitted by reason of insanity of killing his wife in 1998, will live at a Hartford mental health treatment center, eventually for seven days a week.

The state Psychiatric Security Review Board on Friday voted 4-0 for the plan, which has several conditions attached to it. Messenger will have a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew at the Center for Human Development, according to Ellen Lachance, executive director of the review board.

He will maintain his outpatient treatment at the Capitol Region Mental Health Center in Hartford, she said.

It was unclear how many nights a week Messenger would be staying at first at the Center for Human Development. The number is expected to increase based on how he is doing clinically as determined by professionals at Connecticut Valley Hospital, Lachance said.

"Ultimately, it would be seven days a week," she said.

Messenger beat his wife, Heather, to death with a board and a fireplace poker at their Chaplin home while their 5-year-old son, Dane, watched. David Messenger was acquitted in 2001 by reason of mental disease or defect. In 2004, he was transferred from Whiting Forensic Services at Connecticut Valley Hospital — the state's maximum-security psychiatric unit — to another unit at CVH.

Heather Messenger's family has argued that Messenger should not be released because he has access to significant amounts of money that he could use to track them down.

"Our position has been well stated and we regret the decision that was made and, in doing so, we fear for the people in Hartford who may inadvertently run into the killer," said Daniel Williamson, Heather's brother. "There's expectation he may not handle transition very well." Daniel Williamson and his wife, Melody, have raised Dane from boyhood at their home in Illinois.

John Klar, a lawyer for the victim's family, called David Messenger a "ticking time bomb" that he hopes will not detonate as the killer is reintegrated into society. Klar noted that Messenger's commitment after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity was based on the finding that he had a mental disease or defect that was incurable, although the lawyer said there's been no consensus about the diagnosis and prognosis.

"We just pray that there will be close monitoring by the authorities and that everybody will be safe notwithstanding the incurable condition from which Mr. Messenger suffers," Klar said.

Klar noted that he wasn't permitted to speak before the state Psychiatric Security Review Board in May on behalf of Dane Messenger, who he said suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He said the family fears that David Messenger will try to contact his son, a 20-year-old college student, further harming the young man.

The lawyer is advocating in court for broader rights for victims so that state authorities can make efforts to protect them even if they are not in immediate or imminent physical danger, as the law requires now.

"It's not that we're out for blood here," Klar said, "but simply to have a full voice."

Dr. Kevin Trueblood, a forensic psychiatrist from the Yale School of Medicine, had testified previously that Messenger has been "stable for years" and was now ready to live in a residential setting away from Connecticut Valley Hospital for seven days a week. Since August, Messenger has spent two days each week at the Capitol Regional Mental Health Center.

The board considered Connecticut Valley Hospital's temporary leave application for Messenger. But it modified it in executive session, which is closed to the public because confidential psychiatric information on patients is discussed, according to Lachance.

She said the modifications — which tightened proposed restrictions on Messenger — were as follows:

•While CVH had asked that Messenger be allowed to travel to Hartford, Middlesex and New Haven counties, the board limited his travels to Hartford.

•CVH had not suggested a GPS, but the board imposed the requirement that Messenger wear one.

•CVH normally issues reports on patients once every six months, but the board ordered monthly reports from the hospital.

•CVH suggested random checks of Messenger's computer to make sure that he wasn't trying to contact his son or other members of Heather Messenger's family, but the board barred him from personal computer use.

Messenger will be supervised by the Office of Adult Probation, which usually conducts urine tests and random visits.

Messenger has a court-ordered, 20-year commitment that is due to expire in November 2021, but it can be reduced or extended by the board.

It was unclear how long Messenger would stay at the Center for Human Development, according to Lachance. If he's not progressing as expected, he could be ordered back to Connecticut Valley Hospital. If he does well, he could be moved to an independent apartment, Lachance said.